BS Zelda no Densetsu
MAP2 |genre=Action-adventure |modes=Time-restricted single player with multiplayer scoreboards |platforms=Satellaview }} BS Zelda no Densetsu is an action-adventure game first broadcast to Satellaview owners in August 1995. It is the fifth game developed by Nintendo belonging to ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, but it does not feature Link, the protagonist of the prior four games. Instead it features the same main character that the player selects in the Satellaview game, BS-X, and indeed the games are linked functionally and roughly through plot.Harper, Alison. (ed.). Super Express: New Zelda Hits Japan. Super Play. Issue 35. Pp. 6-7. September 1995. As such BS Zelda no Densetsu, together with BS Zelda no Densetsu: MAP2 and BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban, is generally considered to be a spin-off title from the main Zelda series. Stylistically similar to the original top-down The Legend of Zelda for the NES, but utilizing the 16-bit graphical capabilities of the SNES, BS Zelda no Densetsu is also occasionally regarded as an enhanced remake of the original game.Simpson, Campbell. The Legend of Zelda: a retrospective. PC World. Good Gear Guide. 18 November 2009. This conception most likely arises from the superficial stylistic similarities of the games and the fact that the game is no longer playable in its original form and thus the differing plot of the game is more or less unknown to the general gaming public. The game's title derives the "BS" portion of its name from the Broadcast Satellite system through which the game was transmitted by the distributor, St.GIGA, to Satellaview owners between the date of the first broadcast (in August 1995) and the last broadcast (in January 1997). As the Satellaview's first SoundLink Game, broadcasts for BS Zelda no Densetsu were composed of both a discretely quantifiable portion of game code and a continually streaming vocal track. Employing the voices of voice actors, BS Zelda no Densetsu became the world's first integrated radio-game and it marks the first time that a Zelda title released by Nintendo would utilize spoken dialog. The game was broadcast a total of 5 times and several broadcasts were associated with special nationwide-contests and prizes. The game's popularity among Satellaview players prompted the development of BS Zelda no Densetsu: MAP2 - a remixed version of BS Zelda no Densetsu providing a functional analog to the original The Legend of Zelda's "Second Quest." Plot BS Zelda no Densetsu is set chronologically close in time to A Link to the Past. Although neither of the two stories makes direct reference to the other, the back-story given at the start of the game is substantially identical. The back-story explains that the Gods had created a holy golden triangle called the Triforce which would grant the wishes of anyone who possessed it. Ganondorf, the evil boss of a gang of thieves, located the Triforce and was transformed into Ganon, meanwhile his baleful influence spread across the land of Hyrule. The Gods sent word by messenger that a holy sword would be required to stop this evil, so the King of Hyrule commissioned such a sword. After it was completed the Hyrulians discovered that nobody could wield the sword and so the king set his 7 sages to work creating a seal to seal Ganon away until such time as a hero would be born who could wield the holy blade. Not long afterward, Ganon escaped and managed to kidnap the King's daughter, Princess Zelda. As luck would have it, on a Sunday a few days later, a youth from the far away entered a fabulous portal in a fortune teller's tent and emerged in the dark of a distant land. Following the stars, the child traveled until at last arriving in the land of Hyrule. Entering a nearby cave the child met an Old Man who armed the youth with a sword and explained the predicament in which Hyrule found itself. The child set out to recover the 8 fragments of Triforce hidden deep in dangerous dungeons. After collecting them and reconstructing the Triforce, the child recovered the holy Master Sword, fought Ganon, and slew him to recover another segment of the Triforce. The child then rescued Princess Zelda and returned to the Town Whose Name Has Been Stolen. Throughout the adventure the youth's efforts were repeatedly frustrated by the inability to progress further. Due to the unstable nature of the magic associated with the fortune teller's portal, the youth's heroic quests in Hyrule were only possible for a one-hour period known as .締切直前！ ギリギリセーフ！イキナリ情報 第1回. サテラビュー通信. 1995.9月号. pp. 96-97.Yip, Spencer. Watch: BS Zelda, the lost remake of the classic. Siliconera. 2 March 2007. At the end of the hour the hero would be whisked away back to the City Whose Name Has Been Stolen and the portal would not regain its magical ability to transport the child to Hyrule until the following Sunday. To make matters easier for the youth, however, the Old Man that dwelt in the first cave the youth had discovered kept track of all of the youth's money and inventory items so that the youth could recover them again and take up from roughly the same position. Additionally, the Old Man was capable of telepathic communication with the hero and could grant the child magical abilities for short periods of time by researching spells in tomes of forbidden magic. The Old Man's ability to see clairvoyantly also enabled him to sense when certain plot elements were occurring such as the kidnapping of the great fairy or the washing up of useful items by the seashore. These events would be relayed to the hero telepathically. Gameplay The gameplay dynamics of BS Zelda no Densetsu (and BS Zelda no Densetsu: MAP2) are most closely comparable to those of the first The Legend of Zelda, however a few major differences exist between Zelda and BS Zelda which make the two play-through experiences distinctly different. Foremost among these differences is the use of SoundLink data to supplement and provide plot for BS Zelda. As the world's first satellite-based integrated radio-game, BS Zelda's implementation of the streaming SoundLink broadcasts represented an early approach to dealing with the difficulty of meaningfully connecting vocal files to character actions. As such, unlike the later BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban that allows players to continue moving during SoundLink messages, when the in-game clock hits certain times in BS Zelda the game pauses to display a message reading . During this time, players would hear the voice of the narrator (Kiyoshi Kobayashi - playing the part of the Old ManFletcher, J.C. Zelda Week: the Zelda games you'll never play. Joystiq. 4 October 2007.) grant the player magical abilities or warn of events occurring elsewhere in the Land of Hyrule. During other periods of paused gameplay such as during the introduction and end sequences, fully voiced plot details relating to Princess Zelda (voiced by Naomi Fujisawa) and Ganon (voiced by Seizō Katō) were also broadcast. In order to allow the proper pacing of plot elements revealed in vocal files, the game progresses according to a strict time-based system.ＢＳオリジナルゲームも充実!. サテラビュー通信. 1996.5月号. pp. 8-18. An onscreen clock displaying "Zelda Time" can be seen at all times and because the game is played in real-time, the time cannot be paused even if the game is paused. At various points in "Zelda Time" certain pre-set plot events occur. These events range from the death or stunning of all enemies in a room, or the appearance of fairies, to occasional weapons/munition upgrades allowing the use of more powerful versions of items and/or the unlimited use of items for a limited time.Jennings, Ryan and Schneider, Peer. BS Zelda. Hyrule Times (IGN). Vol. 14. 8 February 2002. The game was divided in fourths and broadcast in episodic installments (with the only subtitle being the standard Satellaview suffix, where X was a number between 1 and 4).Retrospective: BS Zelda. Hyrule Times (IGN). 8 June 2006. Each episode limited players to a certain restricted playing area either by withholding necessary items or by using obstacles on the overworld map that would be removed in later episodes. This ensured that players would experience a paced gameplay experience and allowed for a closer tailoring of SoundLink plot details to the events unfolding in new areas of the overworld map. The overworld in BS Zelda was altered from the 8 by 16 map used in the original The Legend of Zelda to an 8 by 8 grid, although an effort to make Map 1 roughly comparable in terms of general landscape features to the overworld in Zelda is apparent. As in The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest, dungeons are again completely different.Zelda Box - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Fan Book. "Perfect Catalogue of the Legend of Zelda." Enterbrain Inc. Nintendo. 2002. p. 100. (Note: screenshot images are of a late beta version.) Consequently, BS Zelda is sometimes referred to as a "Third Quest" in reference to The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest.BS The Legend of Zelda IGN. Retrieved 9 July 2010. BS Zelda Map 2 could thus be considered the "Fourth Quest." Carrying on the tradition initiated in the Second Quest where the dungeon map layouts spelled "ZELDA", Third Quest layout spells "St.GIGA" and the Fourth Quest spells "NiNtENDO". Unlike the original Zelda, in BS Zelda the player's name and gender were selected in the Satellaview game-selection interface, BS-X.「ＢＳゼルダの伝説」画面写真初公開!!. 週刊ファミ通. Vol. 265. p.8. July 28, 1995. This initial selection then carried across to the game. The characters themselves are nameless in-game and are referred to by the narrator as either "child" or "youth." Other differences between Zelda and BS Zelda include an increase in the maximum number of rupees allowed a player from 255 to more than a thousand, and the addition of a score that was tallied when gameplay ended at the expiration of "Zelda Time." Score tallies were calculated based on an algorithm factoring in such elements as whether or not Ganon had been slain, how many pieces of Triforce had been collected, number of restarts, number of hearts lost, and number of rupees collected. As each rupee represents one point in the final score tallied at the end of a play-through, the number of rupees collected often was of central importance in achieving high-scores needed to win prizes during special competition runs. Development From the earliest days of the Satellaview, the intention was to provide an opportunity for players "from Kyūshū to Hokkaidō" to enjoy two-way communication and involvement with a communication system allowing multiplayer netplay.Miyamoto, Shigeru. スーパーファミコンアワーの可能性と未来 ~ゲーム業界の重鎮が語る衛星放送の魅力Ｐａｒｔ１―宮本茂氏. サテラビュー通信(月刊ファミコン通信). 5月号増刊. pp.75-81. While the earliest broadcasts for the Satellaview included solo-play games and strictly time-linked SoundLink Magazines that gave a sense of the player's direct temporal connection to the broadcasting center, St.GIGA, Nintendo's goal of simultaneous involvement between and amongst players was thought to be lacking. For this reason Nintendo began sponsoring a series of student networking projects to develop a network game that would let home consumers interact with each other over the satellite broadcasting system.Sasaki, Makoto. "Inside Zelda Part 11: Behind the Landscapes in Hyrule." Nintendo Power. No.202. April 2006. pp.36-38. The result of this networking project was the world's first integrated radio-game (or SoundLink Game) - BS Zelda. As a programming project, BS Zelda was considered by students to be exceptionally difficult due to the strict quality control imposed by Nintendo. The game was to have no interactive lag and no programming bugs of any kind. The project went through at least two beta versions prior to release.BS Zelda Beta Pics. Kenosha Online. Retrieved 18 July 2010. On final release the game was divided into 4 episodes each of which would be available for download only during a narrow 1-hour window. Simultaneously streaming "SoundLink" vocal files would be broadcast to players to provide an expanded fully orchestrated musical score as well as plot narration. These vocal tracks were far too large for the 8M ROM capacity of the Satellaview, however as streaming files they were only temporarily stored as RAM which was then over-written as the game progressed. Although players would not be able to play a true multiplayer game as only 1 player could be displayed in the overworld at one time, the goal of a sense of inter-player community was achievedKushida, Riko (ed.). 時を超え遊び継がれる『ゼルダの伝説』: 傑作の代名詞　歴代『ゼルダの伝説』紹介 ~全国のユーザーが熱中、リアルタイム衛星放送バージョン！！~. N.O.M.: Nintendo Online Magazine. Vol.3. p.3.3. November 1998. by linking all BS Zelda players to a common real-world time-frame, by making in-game references to the idea of other players, and by including a game score and password system that allowed the publishing of ranking tables and the competition of players against one another for prizes awarded by St.GIGA. The serialized structure together with the strength of the Zelda franchise was intended to encourage Satellaview sales and viewership and to establish fan loyalty. First announced during an early July 1995 SoundLink Magazine broadcast of Hikaru Ijuin's , the official BS Zelda pre-release party was hosted by Hikari Ōta and took place during the August 3, 1995 SoundLink Magazine broadcast of Bakushō Mondai, and the first episode of BS Zelda was released on Sunday August 6, 1995 with new episodes broadcast every subsequent Sunday through the 27th. The game was re-broadcast on at least 4 subsequent occasions as reruns throughout the lifetime of the Satellaview. Broadcast dates Reception and legacy By all accounts, the popular reaction to BS Zelda no Densetsu was overwhelmingly positive. During the lead-up to its August 6 release, Nintendo described the games as being the "biggest buzz of the summer," and the release of the game generated such hype that St.GIGA was inundated with postcards and faxes from excited fans. Due to the game's "amazing popularity," discussion during the SoundLink Magazine broadcasts was dominated by the subject throughout the month of August. With the "whirlpool of excitement across the country" growing stronger rather than diminishing, it was decided that a September rerun would be made available for fans that had missed the initial run. The September rerun did little to satisfy fans - instead yet more new players became interested during September's broadcasts. To satisfy continued interest in the game, it was decided that a second rerun would be broadcast during the month of October due to popular demand''ＯＮ　ＡＩＲ　ＧＡＭＥＳ''. サテラビュー通信. 1995.10月号. pp. 8-18. A third rerun was again broadcast during the month of November, and in late December 1996 fans voted by an overwhelming majority to broadcast a fourth rerun of BS Zelda as the "Player's Choice Classic SoundLink game" for January 1997.あなたが選ぶ名作サウンドリンクゲーム. Nintendo.co.jp. Archived 5 June 1997. The development goal of creating a communal sense of simultaneous game-play was considered to have been met and magazines such as Digital Magazine Busters announced that the game had set records for the greatest number of people simultaneously playing a single game.任天堂の提供する「サテラビュー」。隠された可能性と魅力に迫る！ Digital Magazine Busters - Game News. Nintendo. 20 June 1997. Due to the great successes of the game Nintendo undertook the development of a remixed version of BS Zelda no Densetsu that would be entitled BS Zelda no Densetsu: MAP2.締切直前！ ギリギリセーフのニュースをお届けだ！イキナリ情報. サテラビュー通信. 1996.1月号. pp. 6-7. Featuring all-new dungeon layouts and altered positions of items and locations in the overworld, BS Zelda: MAP2 represented the functional equivalent of the "Second Quest" portion of the original The Legend of Zelda. This sequel broadcast was in turn rerun once during March, 1996. The successes and popularity of SoundLink games such as BS Zelda and Super Bombliss are directly responsible for further developments in the field of SoundLink Games including such titles as Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1. The first two BS Zelda games would also serve as the direct forerunners of the later-broadcast BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban. Emulation Due to the short-lived nature of the game and the fact that the gameplay is intimately connected to the vocal SoundLink files that were broadcast into RAM and were thus incapable of digital preservation by receiving Satellaview-owners, the game cannot currently be played in its original form. Despite this, however, a small subculture of collectors and enthusiasts devoted to the restoration of these games have successfully managed to dump the digital information originally downloaded to and saved on the Satellaview's 8M memory packs. As temporally limited games, the copies of BS Zelda that had been saved on 8M Memory Packs were initially intended by Nintendo and St.GIGA to be over-written, by players, with later games. The fortuitous preservation of these 8M Memory Packs is responsible for all subsequent emulation efforts related to the games. Since the last broadcasts of BS Zelda (in January 1997) and BS Zelda: MAP2 (in March 1996), restoration-minded fans have created numerous patches that have been applied to the original ROM dumps to alter the game by removing the game's download pauses and time limits, stringing together all four episodes into one, and providing a title screen and file selection screen, among others. Some patches have also replaced the game's protagonist with Link, the hero of the original The Legend of Zelda in order to more closely mimic this game. Further altering the game, some emulation-based restoration projects have removed the "Listen closely" sign to replace it with a display showing the text of the narration that originally accompanied the "Listen closely" sign, and more recent MSU-1 emulation projects have introduced fan-made voice acting of the original script. The game has been translated by fans into English, French, Spanish, and German.BS Zelda - Roms / Patches. BS Zelda Homepage. Retrieved 18 July 2010. The cumulative effects of all of these alterations has led to a great deal of confusion among fans as to the character of the original broadcasts and as modern hacked versions are often missing plot details initially present in missing vocal files, this has contributed to the misconception that the games were little more than 16-bit remakes of the original. References Category:The Legend of Zelda video games Category:Satellaview games Category:Japan-exclusive video games Category:1995 video games Category:1996 video games